Portable building



Jan. 30, 1945- s. E. COWBOURNE PORTABLE BUILDING 2 Sheets- Sheet -1Filed March 18, 1942 Patented Jan. 30, 1945 v v UNITED STATES PATENT vOFFICE 2,368,523 1 a PORTABLE BUILDING Spencer E. Cowbourne, Arlington,Mass. Application March 18, 1942, SerialNo. 435,213

2 Claims.

This invention relates to portablebuildings and more particularly to abuilding structure which can be prefabricatedinto a plurality of unitsadapted to be conveniently assembled in any desired location and aseasily disassembled for removal to new locations. I am aware thatbuildings of this general nature have'been heretofore known and myinvention resides more especially in a novel and improved method ofassembly and in structural improvements which render the buildingconstruction more substantial and rigid and facilitates the assembly and'disassembly of the structure. 4,

My invention contemplates a building 'con- .struction in which aplurality of like roof and side wall sections are juxtaposed incooperating relation to produce a building of the desired lengthsupported on foundation sills recessed to receive the side wall sectionsdirectly thereinto and in which the framing is thereafter erected in amanner joining the side wall and roof portions into rigid sections andthe sections into a rigid building unit.

Other elements of the construction include precut sectional foundationsills and vertically extending studs seated in the sills and cooperatingwith and supporting the side wall sections. Removable rafters likewiseare provided to cooperate with and unit the roof sections, and a furtherfeature of the invention resides in leakproof gaskets located betweenthe sections, and means holding the sections in tight contact with thegaskets, the roof sections being furthermore pro vided with a leakproofcovering which directly cooperates with the gaskets at the sectionjoints. Other means extending longitudinally of the building is providedfor rendering the roof and side wall portions of the sectionssubstantially rigid and securing the sections into a unit build-. ing ofsubstantially rigid construction. The pri-' mary object of the inventionresides in the production of an improved portable building embodyingthese novel features.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood andappreciated from the following description of a preferred embodimentthereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in theaccompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portablebuilding embodying my improvements,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, I

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the foun- Fig. 6 isa view similarto Fig. 5 but showing a modified construction.

My invention contemplates the production. of a portable buildingconstructed from pre-cut parts joined to produce sectional portionswhich are adapted to be juxtaposed in requisite numbers toproducebuildings of desired length or size, and an important feature of theinvention resides in a novel and improved method of construction whichconsists in first erecting the shell of the building, including the sidewalls and roof, on apre-cut foundation and thereafter erecting'theinterior frame and securing the; parts and, sections together into asubstantial rigid building unit. I

In the drawings I0 indicates the foundation and I2 indicates a pluralityof side wall and roof sectionsthereon and joined together to produce abuilding of the desired length. The foundation comprises sills which canbe in one piece I4 for the ends of the building and in sectional piecesI5 of predetermined lengths for the sides of the building, the latterbeing provided with pre-cut interlocking ends I6 whereby to accompre-cutends and joists I8 with pre-cut ends, the sills and joists being adaptedto drop into predetermined locking position in mortises in thefoundation at their ends I9 and 20. These simple pre-cut parts areadapted conveniently to be up in sections I2 adapted to easytransportation and easy assembly on the foundation. Each sectioncomprises two side wall panels 22 and two roof panels 24 which areconveniently constructed of plywood. For convenience in assembly andtransportation I have illustrated the'roof panels as hinged together at25 and the side wall panels as hinged to the roof panels at 21. Thesefour piece sections are of relatively light weight and can beconveniently opened from the folded transporting relation and assembledon the foundation. This assemblyis facilitated by grooving the sills I4and I5 longitudinally at 28 to receive the side wall panels 22thereinto, the grooves being'of a width tightly receiving the panels andbeing of a depth to give substantial support thereto.

The several panels are juxtaposed in end to end relation and theengagement of the panels 22 in the sill grooves 28 is suflicient to givepreliminary support to the sections. Th roof panels 24 are covered witha layer of suitable leak-proof roofing material 30 and the jointsbetween the adjacent sections are closed by gaskets 32 of any suitablematerial for providing substantially tight and permanent calkingthereof. Studs 33 are provided for cooperating with and supporting theside walls and the sills are mortised at 34 to receive tenons 35 on thebottom ends of the studs. The mortises 34 are spaced to the width of theside wall panels whereby to bring each stud into cooperating relationwith two adjacent panels at their junction. Angleiron brackets 36 aresecured to the panels 22 in position to embrace a stud between-adjacentbrackets and bolts 38 extending through the brackets and studs areadapted to hold the panels and studs together as a unit.

In like manner the roof panels 24 are provided with angleiron brackets40 located in position to embrace a rafter 41 between adjacent brackets,the rafters being located at and along the junction of the panels 24.Bolts 42 extending through the brackets and rafters are adapted to holdthe panels and rafters together as a unit. It will also be apparent thatthe bolts 38 and 42 serve to draw the adjacent panels into tight contactwith the gasket 32 therebetween and the leakproof roofing layer 30 intocontact with the adjacent gaskets.

Each two roof panels 24 joined at 25 are held in rigid relation at thehinge joint 25 by a block 44 fittingthe V-contour of the panels beneaththe joint, this block being held to the panels by suitable fasteners 45.In similar manner the hinge joint 21 between the panels 22 and 24 aresuppanels 22 and a door frame 58 being illustrated in one of the endpanels 60. The flooring 62 which can also be of plywood is supported onthe joists l8.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated the Fig. 5 construction somewhat modified.Angleirons 64 are carried by the blocks 45' which are secured to theside panels 22 and in position to be received by U-shaped irons 55carried by the studs 33'. Other U-shaped irons 66 carried by the studs33' are adapted to receive angleirons 6'! carried by the piece 52. Theseinterfittin irons serve to locate and hold these parts in thepredetermined relation illustrated.

It will now be apparent that I have produced a new and improvedcombination of pre-cut portable building elements and a novel andeconomical ported by blocks 46 fitting the V-contour beneath the hingejoint and attached to the side panels 22 by fasteners 48. When theblocks 44 are secured in place, pieces 55 and 52 of lengths engagingseveral of such blocks are placed and secured to the blocks in a mannerconnecting the several sections into a rigid building unit. The piece 50cooperates with the blocks 44 and is secured thereto by fasteners 5| andthe piece 52 cooperates with the block 46 and is secured thereto byfasteners 53. The pieces 52 are thus secured to the blocks 46 and beardirectly against the roof panels 24 (Fig. 5). The piece 52 also heardirectly against the extreme top end portions 33' of the studs 33 asshown in Fig. 2. Furtherrigidity is also given to the sections by crossbeams 54 extending transversely across the longitudinal center of thebuilding and secured by fasteners 55 to the rafters.

The side and end panels can b provided with window frames, door framesand the like as desired, windows 56 being illustrated in the side methodof uniting such elements into a substantially rigid building unit. Theseveral pieces can be'pre-cut at the mill, conveniently transported tothe building location, and assembled into the completed building withgreat convenience and a minimum of labor. Particular attention isdirected to the method of procedure which embodies first the erection ofthe foundation, the erection of the housing shell on the foundation, andthen the framing of the shell into a rigid building unit. When theremoval of the building to another location becomes necessary, theadvantages present in the method of originally erecting the building areof the same advantage in the disassembling of the building andre-erecting it on the new location.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure. by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A portable building, comprising foundation sills each provided in itstop face with relatively spaced mortises therealong and a longitudinallyextending recess parallel with and spaced from the mortises, verticallyextending studs on the sills at the mortises and each having a tenon onits bottom end engaging within its mortise. vertically.

their edge junctions overlapping the studs, pairs of brackets carried bythe sections along their cooperating vertical edges, and screw threadedmeans connecting each pair of brackets and holding the sections togetherand to the adjacent stud as a unit.

2. In a portable building, a series of panels secured together in edgeto edge relation and cooperating with another series of panels likewisearranged, the two series joining each other at an apex forming an obtuseangle therebetween within the building, abutment blocks engagin thepanels at said apex within the building for holding the panels of thetwo series against relativ movement, and an element extendinglongitudinally of, the building and secured rigidly to the blocks.

SPENCER E. COWBOURNE.

